


Trust, and Other Issues

by spudmuffin92



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers - Ambiguous Fandom
Genre: Alternate Universe - Superheroes/Superpowers, Bucky Barnes Needs a Hug, Canon Divergence - Post-Avengers (2012), Clint Barton's secret family never happened, Eventual Romance, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, I don't know what I'm doing, Native American Character(s), Post-Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Slow Burn, Trust Issues
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-04
Updated: 2017-08-27
Packaged: 2018-11-09 02:01:46
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 10
Words: 18,082
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11094570
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/spudmuffin92/pseuds/spudmuffin92
Summary: Lark Laughing Owl arrived home to find her mother dead and her little brother taken.  Now, she's on a mission to get him back and avenge her mother's death.  On her way, she somehow falls in with The Avengers and they're offering to help her, but Lark is pretty sure she can handle this on her own...Steve has found Bucky and brought him to the Avengers, but Bucky isn't the man he was, and Steve won't see that.  Now Bucky has to face Hydra, the organization that turned him into the Winter Soldier, to prevent them from doing the same to a new generation.Now Lark and Bucky have to work together to overcome nightmares, evil organizations, little kid tantrums and maybe even THEIR FEELINGS?!?!?!?!?Sorry for the lame summary, this is my first fic.  Happens sometime after the first Avengers movie and Captain America The Winter Soldier, but this fic is going to diverge pretty significantly after that.If you like what you read, please comment or leave Kudos!





	1. Have Fun Storming the Castle

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first fanfic, so I hope you all will forgive me if it's not...great? I started out writing in third person before I switched to first. I tried to catch them all, but if I missed a few, I'm sorry! 
> 
> Comments are appreciated, but please be kind!

I surveyed the complex in front of me from the shadow of the surrounding forest.  I’d already crept over the tall chain-link and barbed wire fence (with only minor cuts and scrapes, yay!) and stalked towards the large concrete buildings, keeping to the cover of the trees.  I’d somehow made it this far undetected, but in front of me was a wide open space of low cut grass and I could see guards patrolling the roof and the perimeter of the building.  I was going to have to make a break for it and be exposed the entire time.  

_ Shit. _ I thought, trying to find a more appealing option.  No such luck though.

I had the benefit of darkness making it harder to spot me and had the presence of mind to wear dark, loose fitting clothing that would be easy to move in. I watched the sentries, for any gaps in their patrols and cursed again when I found no obvious way to exploit their patterns. I thought back desperately to remember any lessons from uncle Gage about how to stalk prey and pass through an area undetected.  ‘Old Indian secrets,’ he’d called them with that dark mischievous glint in his eye.  If only I’d paid more attention to them I lamented, not for the first time that night.  

I huffed as I bent over to check my shoes to make sure they were secure on my feet, there was no helping it.  I would have to make a mad sprint for it and hope that the guards wouldn’t see the tall Native chick hurtling towards them like a bat out of hell.  If I got there fast enough, I might be able to get the drop on the guards before they could raise the alarm. I almost wanted to laugh at the insanity of what I was about to do, but there was no other choice.  I  _ have _ to get into that building.  They have my little brother….and they’d killed our mother.

_ No, don’t think about that now. Not yet, you’ve got to hold it together until you find Kaiden, then you can lose your shit over mom. _  I thought fiercely, scrunching my eyes closed as though that would ward off the emotions roiling just below the surface.  O _ nce, you get Kaiden and kill those bastards, _ I amended.

Perform a stealth run, take out well trained members of a shadow organization, find my brother, avenge our mother and somehow get the both of us out alive...seemed simple enough, right?  

_ Oh, the shit they don’t teach you in vet school, _ I thought ruefully, assuming a runner's crouch.   

Just as I was about to launch myself into what was most definitely the stupidest run of my life, I saw two shadowy figures drop onto the roof, seemingly from thin air, closely followed by two flying figures, who remained hovering above the roof.  All of the figures quickly began dispatching the sentries on the roof.  

_ Are those wings? _ I mused before shaking myself, _ Focus, Lark!  Worry about the flying guys later. _ I turned my focus back to the guys on the ground and was relieved to see that they were entirely focused on the activity on the roof.  

I smiled fiercely,  _ perfect! _  using the distraction caused by the arrival of the strangers to sprint across the open ground towards the building. 

I’ve always been fast, and made it without anyone shooting at me.  Throwing myself heavily against the concrete wall to catch my breath I looked to my left where a guard stood between me and a door even farther down.  The guard still hadn’t seen me, and as I crept along closer and closer to the unsuspecting guard, he never once glanced my way. Luckily the interlopers on the roof were far more interesting to the guard than anything happening on the ground with him as he sighted through the scope on his gun, waiting for the strangers to appear over the edge of the roof and make his shot.  

I was close enough now, and could feel and faintly “see” the golden light that made the flow and pulse of energy that was the lifeforce of the guard. I concentrated on his flow, binding it to my will and pulling the energy of the guard from his body and into my hand.  As it passed from one body to another, it became easier to see the energy until it glowed in the air between us. The hapless guard never saw it coming, he let out one soft strangled noise, before he collapsed on the ground, dead.  His stolen life force made my trembling hand glow softly before absorbing it into my own body.  I stepped quickly over the lifeless body and made my way to the door.  Reaching it, I turned back to where the guard lay and spoke quietly and with a lot more calm than I currently felt. 

“That was for my mom, asshole.”

Turning back to the door, I summoned the energy I drained from the guard and my hand once again glowed a warm golden color. I’d never used life energy like this, not to destroy, and certainly never to kill.  But the people who had come looking for me, and instead found my mom and little brother, had changed that. 

_ Well surprise fuckers, here I am.  _ I thought as I applied my glowing hand to the door hinges and watched in satisfaction as the metal door melted beneath my touch. I repeated the process with the other hinges and the coded door handle.  After that the heavy door fell forward with a light pull and a long hallway leading to the building's interior was revealed.  I paused to cast out my senses, looking for Kaiden’s distinct mental signature.

_ Kaiden, ya there? _ I thought as I brushed what I thought was his consciousness.

_ Lark?! You’re here! Help me please, come find me!! _ Came the desperate and frightened reply.   

_ Easy buddy, I’m on my way. _ I sent back along our bond as I stepped into the dim hallway. 

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hovering above her, Lark didn’t notice one of the flying figures watching her as it occasionally sent a casual particle beam blast hurtling into the fray on the roof.  

“Heads up kids, we’ve got unexpected company that entered on the ground floor after taking out a guard and dismantling a door in a very...unique way.”

“Okay...any more information would be great, Tony”

“Aw come on guys, where’s the fun in that?” another blast of particle beam takes out the remaining roof sentry.  

“We don’t have time for this Tony! We need to get the intel from this Hydra base and move out ASAP.” came the gruff reply.

“Fine, looks like a woman, dark clothing, dark hair...powerful. Definitely superhuman, but I’ve never seen powers like hers before.  Since she eliminated one of the hydra sentries I think we can assume that for now, at least, she’s on our side.  Better, dear?”  Tony Stark quipped back across the comm.

“Yeah, we can work with that.” 

“Well Stevie, it looks like from here on you guys are on your own, keep an eye out for our unexpected friend, and don’t be stupid.  I’ll be out here keeping anymore uninvited guests out of your hair.”

“Same to you.  We’ll let you know when we’re ready for pick up.” Captain America replied as he motioned to the Winter Soldier and Falcon to enter the building from the roof. 


	2. Enemy of my Enemy is My...?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapters are all proofread by me, so mistakes are my own.

_Lark! Calling you with my brain WORKED!  It was hard and made me real tired though.  They took me and we were in a plane and then they blindfolded me and then they put me in here and it’s dark and there’s no light and all their thoughts are so MEAN and I’m scared and…_ Kaiden was mentally rambling in his panic and it was pretty distracting.

 _Kaiden...Kaiden...KAIDEN!!!_ I had to repeat myself several times before I could derail Kaiden’s train of thought. We were physically close enough now that I could communicate with Kaiden mentally, as he could with anyone he was emotionally attached to.  My younger brother is a fairly powerful telepath/empath and could communicate mind to mind with people when they were physically close enough and could project his emotions and impressions of thought across greater distances, which was how he had summoned me from Montana while I’d been in Washington.  I had been celebrating graduating from veterinary school when I had felt an overwhelming sense of panic and despair surging across the bond I share with my sibling.  I’d known something was wrong immediately and had departed as quickly as I could to find him, my panic only rising when I discovered my childhood home burned to the ground and the news that my mother hadn’t survived the blaze.  From there, I’d followed Kaiden’s mental signal into the snowy wilderness until I’d come upon this base.      

When I heard Kaiden finally shut up and turn his focus onto me, I thought in as gentle and soothing a way as possible, _Listen kiddo, I’m coming to get you. I am not going to leave you here, but I really need you to be brave for me and to stay quiet, okay?  It’s hard for me to concentrate when you’re just thinking so loudly at me, and I need all the focus I can get right now._

 _Okay...sorry Lark,_ he paused, and then I sensed him stumble upon one of my memories from a few minutes ago before I could wrench it from his grasp.   _Lark...Lark, did you kill a guy?!_

 _...Yeah, I did. I don’t want to talk about it right now though Kaiden._ I thought wearily back at him as I checked around a corner.  Poor kid, he shouldn’t have seen that...shouldn’t have seen a lot of things, in fact.

 _Okay...okay, just come get me, please!_ the panicked feeling was back to Kaiden’s thoughts now and I couldn’t help but feel a pang of worry and guilt about him that I quickly tried to stow away to feel later.  We were both going to need some time to get over this if we made it out of here alive.  

I turned another corner only to be met by another empty hallway, how odd. _Kaiden,_ I thought, _can you check and see where everyone else in this building is?_

_Sure… they’re all up on the floor above you I think. It feels like they’re fighting._

I took a moment to thank my lucky stars all over again that I’d managed to time this rescue operation with the arrival of this other group. Not only did they provide a much needed distraction, it had so far kept me from having to really fight any enemies.  Thanks to my uncle and my own powers, I could certainly hold my own in a fight, but I also knew I was highly inexperienced and now was not the night to put my skills to the test, there was too much at stake.  

I felt Kaiden was below me, so on the next flight of stairs I came across I went down one flight where I could feel Kaiden’s energy.  Upon alighting at the bottom of the stairs I turned and was abruptly deposited in a large basement room.  It was also empty but filled with computer work stations on one side of the room and a row of three doors on the other.  I approached the nearest and called softly, “Kaiden?”

“I’m in here!” responded a voice from the middle door.  

I rushed to the door but found it locked by a key panel and cursed softly.  I’d used all of the energy from the guard on the outside door and now there was nothing near that would supply the energy to treat this door in a similar manner, and if I was being honest with myself, I wasn’t entirely sure I had another drain like that left in me.  Draining someone of their life took a lot of focus and concentration from me, and I wouldn’t be any help to Kaiden passed out.

“Do you need the code to the door?” Came Kaiden’s muffled query.

“Do you have it?!”

“Yeah...I read the guy’s mind when he brought me food this morning.”

“Oh Kaiden, you genius, you.  What is it?”

Kaiden recited the code as I keyed it in, it flashed green and I flung open the door to reveal my baby brother crouched in a cell.

In an instant Kaiden had flung himself into my arms and we clung to each other on the floor of the basement room, rocking and crying.  In the brief moment I had seen him, Kaiden seemed unhurt, if not more than a little dirty.  His long black hair had fallen out of its braid and I could feel multiple knots as I carded my fingers through it.  Though there was a significant age difference between us, I was 25 and Kaiden was only 7, we’d bonded from the moment he was born.  I skimmed my hands across him as he held onto me and was relieved to find that my earlier suspicion was correct, he wasn’t hurt.  

As I held him, I became aware that Kaiden was unintentionally broadcasting his feelings very powerfully, strong enough for anyone near him to feel what he did.  Feelings of relief, fear and grief washed over me in a wave and were magnified by my own similar feelings.  I needed Kaiden to get himself under control before he incapacitated us both or drew attention to this basement room.  At that moment I also heard the staccato beat of gunfire, the fighters were getting closer to where we were.  

Gently, I disentangled myself from Kaiden’s grip and presented my back to him.  “Climb on bud, let’s get you out of here.”

Kaiden scrubbed furiously at his eyes, ridding them of his tears and obediently put his arms around my neck as I grabbed his legs, preparing to carry him piggy-back out of the complex.  I had just started toward the stairs when my breath hitched and made a hasty retreat further into the room.  We’d both heard the sound of multiple pairs of heavy boots on the stairs.  

I crouched into a defensive position, keeping myself between whatever was coming into the room and Kaiden.  I didn’t have long to wait, because at that moment a gun, quickly followed by a man appeared in the basement room.  He moved with the precise grace of a soldier, I recognized from years spent training with uncle Gage, but further assessment of the man was completely overwhelmed by Kaiden forcing his way into my head to exclaim-

_Lark!! He has a METAL ARM_

I winced at the volume with which Kaiden had mentally spoken, _Yes Kaiden, I can see that…_

 _No, but do you know what that means?!_  I couldn’t figure out why Kaiden’s excitement seemed to be mounting when the man, keeping his gun trained on us, but slightly relaxing his position, called back up the stairs.

“Hey Cap, we’re all clear down here. But you’re gonna want to see this…”

The sound of more heavy bootsteps, and then there appeared an even taller man, wearing a red, white and blue uniform, with a shield strapped to his arm.

_Holy shit… is that?_

“Captain America!” Kaiden whispered in awe.  

The Captain’s eyes widened briefly in surprise, taking us both in, while the man with the metal arm, _The Winter Soldier!_ helpfully supplied by Kaiden, stalked over to a computer and started tapping at the keyboard while murmuring to someone over what I assumed was an earpiece.  I turned my focus back to the other man standing before them, noticing from my peripheral vision that another, shorter man with dark skin and some sort of metal device on his upper torso entered the room.  If we were going to have trouble, I was not going to fare well against these three.

“Falcon!” Kaiden practically shouted and were it not for my tight grip on his legs, I felt that Kaiden would’ve launched himself head first over my shoulder in his excitement. _Time and a place, Kaiden, time and a place._  In his excitement, Kaiden was once again strongly projecting his emotions, earning us both a troubled expression from the Captain and Falcon and a glower from the Winter Soldier.   _Well fuck, so much for keeping his abilities a secret..._   

The man, Falcon, smiled tentatively at the boy on my back “Hey there, weird place to be hanging out on a school night isn’t it, kid?”

For once, Kaiden was struck blessedly dumb at being directly addressed by one of his heroes, and my mouth couldn’t help but quirk into half a smile.

Captain America had been studying us quietly but after watching our reaction to his team, he apparently decided we weren’t a threat and relaxed his posture, even holding his hands up in a non-threatening position.  The sudden movement, drew my attention back to the man towering above me and I felt all my muscles tense again.

“Look, we don’t want to hurt you.  But I need you to tell us why the hell you’re in a Hydra outpost in the middle of the night with a young kid.”  Captain America kept his posture non-threatening but his tone of voice was firm and authoritative.  

“I’m Lark...this is my little brother Kaiden.  This group, Hydra?  They came to our house, killed my mom and took Kaiden.  I had no one to help me, so I came alone to get him...I...we, can take care of ourselves.” I amended lamely at the end.

Captain America nodded, a small and efficient movement, but his eyes said he had more questions, A LOT more questions. Thankfully though, it seemed he decided to save them for later because he said,  “Well, we took care of the bad guys upstairs, so the building should be cleared out and safe for all of us to leave as soon as we’re done-”

I felt Kaiden jerk upright against me before he shouted, much to the consternation of the very large men around us “Bad guys! Lots of them!”  I felt along Kaiden’s and my bond and confirmed that there were indeed more Hydra agents swarming the floors above.  

I met Captain America’s gaze and said “My brother is right, he can sense at least twenty bodies on the floor above us and more rapidly approaching from the trees.”  The Captain paused and I got the impression that someone was talking to him over an earpiece, he turned away so we couldn’t read his lips (little good that would do standing in a room with a telepath, but I didn’t bother to point that out) and carried out a quiet conversation with the person on the other end.  

He turned back to us, but addressed the man at the computers, “Buck...how we doing?”

“Almost got what we need...there, done.”  The winter soldier pocketed a USB drive and  joined his teammates in assessing us, the interlopers.

“I just got word from Tony that they’re right, we’ve got company on the upper floors again and more reinforcements on the way.  Tony and the Quinjet have had to retreat for now but they’ll come back when we make it roofside.” He looked at Kaiden and me, “I think it would be best if you two came with us. I don’t feel good about leaving you to fend for yourselves.”

I hesitated, these guys were heroes, mostly, and logically I should be able to trust them; but another part of me also said that the only person I could really rely on in this mess was my family.  I didn’t even have to check to see what Kaiden thought, he would’ve gladly followed Captain America to the ends of the earth.  I could both hear and sense that our enemies were getting closer, and while I might not entirely trust our new comrades, I liked our chances with the well trained super soldiers much better than on our own.  Hopefully they would let us go once we were out of this mess, otherwise...well I’d cross that bridge if we got to it.  I met each of the men’s gazes in turn and gave each of them my best _‘you fuck with me or my brother, you die’_ , glare and said “All right, we’re with you.”


	3. Tis Only a Flesh Wound...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry none of these chapters have been very long, I'm still kinda figuring out how to space out this story. 
> 
> This chapter starts out immediately after the events of the previous chapter.

“All right, we’re with you.”  

The Captain nodded and added, “When we make it out of here, I think it’s safe to say that the Avengers will have a lot of questions for you, but for now let’s move out. Sam and I will take point and Bucky you hang back with these two.”

We assumed formation, Sam and Cap in front, me with Kaiden, and Bucky in the rear. Almost as soon Cap and Sam reached the top of the stairs, fighting broke out.  Sam and Cap had surged forward into the room to clear the way but Bucky arrested my ascent with a firm grip on my shoulder.  I could feel the tension rolling off of him, poised behind me. He clearly didn’t like being relegated to protective duty.  

_Fucking Steve, always trying to protect me so I’m stuck babysitting…_

I jump slightly at the stray thought I picked up from Bucky.  I usually can’t do that, read a stranger’s thoughts so clearly, but direct contact seems to “amplify the signal” somewhat.  I’ve found that skin to skin contact is most effective, but the heavy hand on my clothed left shoulder seems to be sufficient to pick up on the grumpy soldier’s thoughts. I don’t react otherwise to let on that I can hear what he’s thinking.  I’ve decided that I’m going to avoid using my powers as much as possible after joining up with this group of super soldiers, the fewer people who know what I can do, the better.  I figure they can’t turn me into a weapon if they don’t know what I’m capable of.  I’m also reasonably sure these dudes are more than capable of getting us through this without my help.  As though to prove my point, the sounds in the room above quiet and Cap reappears in the doorway, giving us the signal to follow him up.  I start up the steps, when Bucky surges up the steps beside me brushing me roughly aside.

“Hey!” I call out indignantly to no response. “Oh no, no need to apologize, that was entirely my bad, didn’t mean to be in your way there…” I grumble under my breath as I secure Kaiden in my grip and follow Bucky up the stairs.  Cap, standing at the top of the stairs doesn’t say anything about our little exchange, but his eyes are amused when I meet them as we pass by.  

The other two floors pass in essentially the same fashion, it’s not until we reach the roof that we really get into the shit.  Once on the roof, we discover that our ride has been delayed, Iron Man is nowhere to be seen and there are Hydra soldiers, _everywhere_.  Cap barks through his commlink, trying to figure out where our backup is while deftly subduing enemy agents.  Bucky pulls Kaiden and me behind something that looks like exposed pipes and ductwork and tells us gruffly to “stay down,” as if we have other ideas, no way would I put Kaiden in jeopardy for this fight.  

Even hunkered behind the ductwork, I can tell the fight isn’t going great for us. Not from lack of skill on the part of the superheroes of course, but there’s just too many of the Hydra agents and we’re losing ground.

I can feel Kaiden’s anxiety at my back and I know that I need to do something to get us through this. I take a moment to place my hands on the cool metal, close my eyes, take a steadying breath and send all feelings of calm and reassurance that I can along my Bond with Kaiden.  He accepts what I send to him and allows it to quiet and soothe his mind as he hunkers closer to me.  When I open my eyes I find Captain America and Falcon on one side of me and The Winter Soldier on the other, they’d been pushed back to the far side of the roof where our hiding spot is.

 _Well shit, so much for teaming up with superheroes._ I think wryly, surveying the mess we’re in.  We’re basically surrounded, no rescue currently in sight and it’s only a matter of time at this point before we’re overrun.

“Hey Sam, how much extra weight can your wings carry again?” the even tone of Cap’s voice doesn’t match the danger of the situation we’re in.

“About 100 lbs, why?” Sam glances out of the corner of his eye at Cap and follows his significant look to the small person on my back.

_Oh, oh Kaiden…_

I’m following what they’re thinking and give an almost imperceptible nod to Sam to show that I’m okay with what he’s about to do.  This is my brother's best chance to get away safe, even if it means I won't be able to go too.  Before Kaiden has time to pick up on our plans, I pivot and present my back to Falcon.  Quick as a flash Sam detangles Kaiden from around me, and Kay is too surprised to resist.  Sam carefully tucks my little brother against his chest, unfurls his impressive wings and takes off with cover provided by Cap and Bucky simultaneously leaping over the ducts and re-entering the fray.  

And just like that, I’m watching my little brother fly away from me.  I can hear his frantic cries as he screams my name as he disappears into the night sky.  His panic and grief a palpable thing on the night air.  I stretch up, trying to keep our bond strong and send him as much comfort as I can as he’s carried away. I don't think I'm crying but I wipe my hand across my cheek and find that it comes away wet.  I realize belatedly that I’m standing, no longer protected by the cover of the ductwork. Comforting Kaiden had superseded my own survival instinct.  

_Hm, that’s not very smart of you Lark…_

Just as I think that, I feel the bullet enter my side.

I put my hand to my side and it comes away, bloody.  Actually, now that I think about it, there's a lot of blood, way more of my blood that I'd ever wanted to see out of my body.  Funny what comes to mind right after you've been shot, huh?  I look down at myself, feeling almost detached from the whole experience, almost like it's happening to someone else.  I feel my legs start to give way from blood loss.  As I slowly crumple to the ground all I can do with my remaining strength is to summon all my will to restrain my powers from healing the hole in my side.

_Don't heal, don't heal, don't heal, they can't know what you can do, don't heal...protect Kaiden..._


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is told from Bucky's perspective. In my fic, I'm having it take place sometime after the events of the Winter Soldier, where Steve has managed to find Bucky and bring him back to the Avenger's to recuperate (big canon divergence, I know). I hope I did okay with my characterization of Bucky. 
> 
> As always, I try to proofread everything but if I missed anything, that's my bad.
> 
> Hope you enjoy!

Was it too much to ask that just  _ once _ , a Hydra mission could go as planned?  In theory, this should’ve been a simple intelligence gathering mission.  Go in, get the intel we needed and get the fuck out.  Seems simple enough, but first we run into the liability and her kid brother (an even bigger liability) and now, here we are in the midst of what was clearly a trap laid by Hydra, fighting for our lives,  _ again _ .  So basically, a typical Wednesday for me and Steve. I always swear that this time, this time, I won’t listen to Steve and won’t go chasing after the ghosts who ruined me.  But then Steve needs me and no one can protect him like I can and maybe this will be the time that I finally get some answers, or revenge, or just some fucking peace of mind...and so, here I am, yet again, with my cybernetic arm punching through a Hydra agent’s jaw.  Maybe someday I’ll learn.

I take out yet another Hydra agent on the roof after Steve and I had jumped over the ductwork to provide a distraction and cover for Sam to get away with the kid.  It had worked, and at least the kid was safe, but I wasn’t so sure how this night would turn out for us yet. 

In this final push, Steve had decided to forego guns (we were basically out of ammo anyway) and take out the fighters on the roof using his hands and his shield, so I’d joined him in a similar fashion, even though my preference would’ve been to be tucked away in a sniper’s nest, picking them off from a distance.  But Steve needed someone at his back right then and me with no sniper’s nests in sight. So here I was, up to my knees in shit, getting up close and personal with the organization that had stolen my life.  Man, have I mentioned I hate these guys?  Steve was also on my shit list for getting me into this mess, but I would deal with him later.

_ Nice thing about the metal arm is it deflects bullets at least. _  I think as I deflect one, two, three shots and run up on the asshole who fired at me.  In a moment he ragdolls to the ground and then it’s onto the next.

“Where...do these guys...keep coming from?!” Steve shouts at me from a short distance away as he simultaneously takes out enemy, after enemy using both hands and shield.  Fighting with Steve almost feels like old times...almost.  Except for the part where we’re both men out of our own time and place, artificially enhanced, and oh yeah I’ve been a brainwashed super assassin for the last seventy-odd years.  Good times.  

I’m about to make a snappy comment to Steve when I see her.  The idiot is standing up, gaze fixed on the spot where Falcon, Sam, disappeared with her brother, arm outstretched as though she were reaching for him.  I try to shout at her to  _ get down _ but I’m too late.  I see the bullet pierce her side and yet she still just stands there.  I gotta hand it to the girl, she’s tough… or really  _ stupid _ .  Doesn’t even bat an eye when she sees the bullet hole, just reaches down and touches it, her hand coming away bloody.  She almost looks bored and highly unimpressed with the blood pooling around her.  Then her legs are slowly giving away as she sinks to the ground. 

“Steve!” I shout, and he spins, all deadly grace and hurls his shield through the air and it takes down the guy who shot her and anyone else standing in the way of me getting back over to where she’s down.  What can I say? The man has a way with flying saucers.  Just imagine what he could do with a frisbee.

“Our ride is incoming, pick her up and let’s go.  I’ll cover you.” Steve shouts as he puts himself in between me and the stream of Hydra agents coming up the stairs onto the roof.

I sprint and launch myself over the ducts again, landing in a crouch next to the girl,  _ Lark _ .  Somehow, she’s still conscious, lying there looking dazed. 

“I seem to be losing quite a lot of blood.” She remarks nonchalantly when she notices me beside her. I grunt in agreement and ready myself to scoop her up into my arms.  She’s tall, but rangy, so I don’t anticipate much trouble in carrying her onto the Quinjet, especially not with my enhanced strength.  A moment later, I hear the roar of Quinjet’s engines and I heft Lark into my arms bridal style and head toward the jet. The only response I get is a small grunt of pain as she tucks her head into my shoulder and then goes still.  I’m pretty sure she’s bleeding on me, but honestly, it’s probably not the first time (not that I really remember anyway) a stranger has bled on me and it probably won’t be the last.  

Somehow, we all make it onto the Quinjet more or less intact and we leave the Hydra base in the dust.  Thank fuck for that.  As soon as we take off Sam and the kid brother come running up to us and when he sees me holding his sister, he naturally freaks out.  Only, it’s weird, because suddenly  _ I’m _ feeling panicked and grief stricken and an overwhelming concern for this stranger in my arms …

_ What the hell? _

“Sam, get him out of here! And tell Nat we need her back here ASAP.” Steve commands from behind me.  The Black Widow acts as our field medic in cases like this and I was told that Banner used to do the more serious patch up jobs before he went AWOL (lucky bastard).  I carry the injured girl over to a bench where Nat can begin to patch her up and set her down as gently as I can.  Her eyes are closed, but she’s restless and her expression is pulled down into a frown.  

Her features are straight and angular, with full lips and long dark hair braided down her back. Like I said, she’s rangy but also looks athletic, the sharp lines of her face continuing down to the rest of her body.  She looks like she might be Hispanic or maybe Native American, but I try not to assume.  Overall she’s...interesting looking.  I’m trying to make my mind up if she’s attractive or not when Nat comes bustling over with the med kit and I move to give her some space to work. 

“Barnes, where do you think you’re going?” Nat asks conversationally as she’s setting out the equipment she will need.

“Just, getting out of your hair…” I mutter and trail off as I halt my retreat.

“Oh no, I need you to stand by her head.”

“Why?”

“In case she wakes up, I’m going to sedate her, but if she’s super-human like Tony thinks, nine times out of ten we can expect a supe to react...poorly to us trying to knock them out.”

“So, I’m here to get punched instead of you?

“Exactly.”

I huff in exasperation, but take the spot by Lark’s shoulders, hovering over her in case I need to prevent her from taking a swing at Nat while she patches her up.  

“Injecting the sedative now.”

“Right.” I watch Lark’s face intently but I don’t see any changes.  Thinking that the sedative is working I relax slightly in my study of her face. 

Of course, it’s right at that moment that her eyes snap open and I swear to God they’re an eerie sort of glowing amber color and locked onto me, but I only see them for the briefest moment before she’s lunging towards me and before I can even react-

“ _ Fucking hell _ , she _ bit _ me!”  I roughly extract her from where she had attacked my shoulder and force her back, prone onto the bench.  Once she’s laying down again, the sedatives seem to finally take effect and her eyes roll back into her head and she goes limp under my hands. 

“Hmph, I gave her enough sedative to take out a horse.” Nat remarks distractedly from where she’s focusing on treating the bullet wound in the girl’s side.  

“Yeah well I have a new dent in my shoulder that says otherwise.”

“Oh quit whining, I’ll treat it after I’m done with her.”

“Fine.  How’s she looking?”

“Pretty good actually, she was lucky, went straight through with clean entry and exit wounds.  Seems the bullet missed everything essential, just caused her to bleed a lot.” I’ve seen Nat take care of enough bullet wounds to believe her assessment and for some reason, I feel relieved to know she’s going to be okay.  I realize belatedly that's a weird feeling to have about someone who just attempted to take a chunk out of you. For some reason though, I don’t want to leave her side, even after Nat’s finished her work and rejoined the others.  Instead, I sit with her and hold her hand all the way back to the Avenger’s Tower.    


	5. You Can't Handle the Truth!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this chapter took a bit longer for me to post, life happens, you know?
> 
> The Native American Tribe that Lark is from is real! Here's a Wikipedia reference- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cayuse_people
> 
> If y'all are real good, maybe Lark will tell you a Coyote story in the next chapter :)

I come back to consciousness in stops and starts.  I think for a moment that I hear people speaking above me, but when I try to focus on their words, I slip back into darkness.  This happens more than once but I’m too out of it to keep track, each time I struggle to come fully awake and each time my efforts are thwarted and I slip back into unconsciousness.  

Finally, I open my eyes and everything feels really bright at first.  As my eyes adjust, I take in the white ceiling and the sparse but modern room I’m in.  There’s a door to my right that leads to what I assume is a bathroom. The bed I’m in is large and comfortable beneath me, everything seems to be decorated in shades of gray, white and black.  I can tell that the furnishings are high end and I’m sure it’s very stylish and modern, but it’s not my style.  The room looks cold and unlived in and I feel more uncomfortable the longer I’m awake.  

All of my limbs feel heavy and sluggish, making me think I’m shaking off some sort of sedation.  I try to think back, figure out the last thing I remember to figure out where I am.  I remember the complex, a Hydra base, and Kaiden. I found Kaiden and then we…

_ I see flashes of silver, black, red, white and blue in a basement room… _

That’s right, the Avengers were also at the complex.  They...helped us to fight our way up to the roof where-

_ I see wings and my little brother being carried away from me into the night sky… _

I sent Kaiden away, gave him a chance to escape with Falcon, a chance to be safe.  It was after that I remember being shot and falling...the next thing I remember...

_ I awoke suddenly, disoriented, feeling a needle pierce the skin of my arm.  Panic grips me, not knowing where I am or who has me I lunge forward and… _

_ Oh God did I…?   _ I scan my memories hoping that it wasn’t true and I’m not happy with what I discover, _ Yup, yup... I definitely bit the Winter Soldier...shit  _  I stared at the ceiling debating the probability of the bed being kind enough to absorb me, hiding me from my embarrassment.  When the earth apparently refused to swallow me whole, I sighed and started the arduous task of sitting up.  It takes a while and I have to compromise but I finally convince my head to lift off the pillow and look across the room, where there’s a small sitting area, a good sized television and I can see my little brother watching T.V. with a beautiful red haired woman.

“Kaiden?” I ask, silently cursing when my voice cracks.

“Lark?” Kaiden whirls from his place at the TV, “Lark!!” and he’s up and running across the room to me, tackling me when he reaches my bed.  

“Hey, hey little bro!  Are you okay? How long have I been asleep?”  Kaiden is laying across me, arms flung around me in a death grip, and it’s painful on my injury; but there’s no place I’d rather be.

“I’m okay Lark!  You’ve been asleep almost the whole day, Nat and I have been waiting for you to wake up!”  And he does look okay, he’s cleaned up and his hair has been combed and braided. The woman, Nat, gets up from the couch and crosses the room to us.  

“Hey kid, why don’t you ease up a little bit?  Your sister’s still injured and you’re kinda crushing her.” Nat says gently from my bedside, Kaiden releases me and sheepishly sits up as I gulp in relieved lungfuls of air.  

“Now that you’re awake, I think that Steve and Tony would like to speak with you about...things...like what you plan to do from here.”  Natasha is smiling, but it doesn’t quite reach her eyes.  And since I don’t trust her farther than I can throw her, I interpret that this little ‘chat’ with Tony and Steve will be less friendly chat and more interrogation.  I narrow my eyes at her to let her know I see her meaning perfectly and she smiles back in earnest this time, as though I’ve done something to please her.  

“Come on, I can help you get dressed before they come in.” The black Widow reaches into a set of drawers and pulls out a bundle of clothing. 

“Thanks, but I can manage on my own.”  I manage to fully sit up this time, only hissing in pain once.  

Natasha’s raised eyebrows let me know that she’s doubtful of my abilities to do much of anything on my own at the moment, but instead she says, “Alright then. Kaiden, I think I heard Clint say something about a fire arrow demonstration? What do you say we go check it out?”

I feel Kaiden’s question in my mind and let him know without speaking that I’ll be fine while he’s with Nat.  He’s reluctant to leave me again, but I try to let him know that I’ll see him again soon, so in the end he precedes Nat out of the room.  As she turns to close the door behind her, our eyes meet and she smirks “Good luck, Lark.” And just like that I’m left alone in the bedroom.  

Slowly, painstakingly, I gingerly maneuver myself into the clean underwear and pants.  The leggings are way too short and end up being more capris than pants on me.  I have a sinking feeling that the clothes I’m borrowing belong to the much more petite Natasha.  I look at the provided shirt and bra dubiously.  Holding them up to myself I can tell there’s no way they’re going to fit me well.  Either my boobs are going to be busting out of the top, or it’s going to be crop top city.  Neither option particularly appeal to me going into the type of conversation I’m about to have with the two male superheroes.  

I throw the shirt and bra back on the bed and look at the shirt I’m currently wearing instead.  It seems like it’s a man’s shirt by its cut and size, it’s a dark red, long-sleeved henley shirt with a waffle weave. It’s soft and worn from years of use and I think I’d be much more comfortable wearing it than I would be wearing Nat’s clothing.  So I decide to leave it on, at least this way I won’t feel as exposed when I speak to Iron Man and Captain America.  That job done, I turn behind me and fluff up the pillows so I can easily sit up in bed and wait comfortably.  I lean back, mostly prepared for whatever happens next and rest, those simple tasks having worn me out.  I put off healing my wound, still unsure if I want these powerful strangers to know of my abilities.   

I don’t have to wait long, a few minutes later there’s a soft knock on my door and Steve Rogers and Tony Stark enter my bedroom.    

“Ah, glad to see you’re awake.” says Steve as he spots me sitting up in bed.

“Me too, thank you for helping Kaiden and me get out of that Hydra base and for taking care of me after I was injured.” I say politely, trying to keep the apprehension I feel from showing in my voice.  

“No problem at all, but since we’ve got you here, Lark Laughing Owl, we’d appreciate it if you answered some of our questions…” Tony pauses, “your parents must’ve really been going for a whole hippie nature, bird type of vibe when they named you, huh?” Steve has the good grace to look embarrassed by his teammate.  

“Actually, my mother named me Larkspur.  Not after a bird, it’s a type of... wildflower.” I realize that doesn’t exactly help, but I’m proud of my name, damn it.  

“Ah, so just the hippie nature vibe then, good to know.”  Tony crosses the room and leans against the window ledge like he owns the place, which I suppose, he does. 

Steve shoots Tony a warning glance and tries a different approach, “Lark, I’m very sorry about your mother.  After we got back to the tower, we confirmed your story with local authorities but we’re still wondering- do you know why Hydra was targeting your family specifically?” 

“Well, my mother was a talented empath and I’m sure as those of you who have already met my little brother know, he’s also a powerful empath and telepath.”

“And you?”

“Boringly normal.” I lie.

A brief glance passes between Tony and Steve.  _ Shit. _

“So, are you Hispanic? Native American?” Asks Tony, changing topics, probably trying to keep me off balance.  

“I’m Indian...Native American.” I answer.  If I’m speaking to other Native Americans I’ll use the word Indian, but lately I’ve gotten used to saying Native American so people don’t think I mean a ‘person from India,’ Indian. 

“What tribe?”

I don’t think Tony knows the complexity of the question he’s asking but decide against giving him an entire seminar on modern Native American culture, for now. Instead I answer, “I’m Cayuse, mostly, but there’s also some Walla Walla, Umatilla and maybe a bit of Nez Perce also thrown in there for good measure. 

“So you’re fully Native American?”

Ugh, this question.  It’s a serious struggle to resist rolling my eyes.  I’ve never been asked this by another Indigenous person, only white people seem to care about my authenticity as a Native American.  What does it matter how Native I am?  Obviously I’m Native  _ enough _ for you to notice and ask the stupid question. However, I once again bite my tongue and answer honestly, “I don’t know.  My mom was, but I don’t know about my father.”

“Ah, yes.  When we were looking into you while you were asleep, we noticed that you’re mother was listed but no where in your records could we find mention of who your father was, which was...odd?” Steve seems to be trying to get us away from the awkward questions about my race.  _ Bless you Steve. _

I rub my eyes, suddenly feeling even more tired. “I’ve never met my father, nor do I know his identity.  So at this point your guess is as good as mine.”

“You mean, your mother never told you about him?”

I bite my lip,  _ was it getting warm in here?  _ “No, she did tell me about him, she just...wasn’t honest about who he was.”

“Who did she say he was?”  
I sigh, _here we go._ “I grew up with my mom telling me that my father was Coyote…”

“What?  A coyote? That’s not…”  Steve’s expression is pure confusion. 

“No, Jesus, Steve.  Not  _ A _ coyote,  _ THE _ Coyote.  He’s a Native American trickster deity, right?”  Tony looks pretty proud of himself for pulling out that information.  

“Yeah, in Cayuse legend he takes on more of a benefactor or creator deity than simply trickster, but you’re basically right.”

“So...is he your dad?” Steve’s eye are earnest and there’s none of the usual tone of disbelief in this question and it unsettles me. 

I scoff, “Coyote is a myth, a legend.  There’s no way he could be my father.”

“Based on personal experience, we’ve learned not to entirely discount the existence of myths.” Tony and Steve are looking at each other again and it takes me a moment to remember they live with Thor, who was long relegated to the realm of myth until he’d shown up in the flesh a few years ago (What? I was recently drugged and it was still making me groggy). 

I open and close my mouth a few times before I finally say “I...I don’t know, honestly.  I don’t have an answer for you when it comes to my father.”

The superheroes look at me with what might be sympathy in their eyes and Tony asks, “And your superpowers?  What about those.”

I chill towards the men in the room immediately and I go rigid “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Oh, quit bullshitting us Lark. I saw you take out the guard and melt the door off the hinges last night.”  Tony rolls his eyes at me. 

I narrow my eyes at hims in response. “I don’t know what you saw,  you must be mistaken.  And even if you did see something, I'm not going to be turned into something I'm not.  My only concern is keeping my Kaiden safe.”  

Tony snorts in response and Steve shifts feet nervously.  “Lark, we just want to help you here.  We can help you and Kaiden, we can train you, help you learn to control your powers.”  

“I don’t need your help controlling _ anything _ .” I stress.

“Okay, _maybe_ you don’t, but Kaiden certainly does.  The kid is an open book and he broadcasts his thoughts and feelings so loudly even someone as self absorbed as Tony could pick up on it.”

“ _ Hey _ , not nice Stevie.”

“Shut up, Tony”

They descend into petty squabbles and I think about what they said.  They’re right, Kaiden could use the help learning control, and I’m not entirely sure that I’m well equipped to help him learn how to do that.  But do I really want my little brother to grow up around people whose everyday lives include danger and violence?   

I clear my throat, drawing their attention back to me and say “I don’t think we can stay here…”

“Look, Lark.  You might not have a choice.  We don’t know why Hydra wants your family and we have to assume they still do.  As long as they’re after you, neither you or Kaiden will be safe.  You did say that the only thing you care about is protecting your brother, _so protect him_.  If you don’t want to learn from us, fine. But let us protect you and your brother until the danger has passed.”  Tony’s usual bravado and sarcasm isn’t gone, but it’s tempered, and I can tell he’s doing his best to sound earnest.

I sigh, feeling overwhelmed, lost and for the first time since I started searching for Kaiden, I’m just really missing my mom.  I wish that I could talk to her again, ask her advice, hear about her and Kaiden’s day.  I wish we could talk about horses and veterinary school and just...life.  Our relationship wasn’t perfect and we’d grown apart more in the last few years and now I’d regret that for the rest of my life.  I feel grief like a heavy stone in my gut and it threatens to pull me down, drowning me.  

My face must show at least some of this emotion to Steve and Tony because Steve clears his throat and says “Why don’t we give you a little time?  When you’re ready, come downstairs and someone will take you out to get some clothes and anything else you and your brother need.” Steve’s eyes are gentle and he reaches over to pat my shoulder.

“Thanks.” I say thickly as the two men turn and leave the room.  Steve smiles again at me as he closes the door.  

Once I’m alone again I let the weight in my stomach sink me down into the bed and I roll over onto my side and curl into a ball.  

_ What am I going to do? _


	6. It's Dinner Time!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Feel the (slow) burn!!!
> 
> As always, I apologize for typos, I just wanted to get through this chapter for you guys.
> 
> Thank you to those of you leaving kudos! I really appreciate it!

I don’t cry, not yet, not when there’s so much to do.  Instead, I take a little while to sort myself out, stuffing the feelings away yet again to feel later, always later.  I sniffle and stiffly get out of bed.  My bullet wound is still there, but it’s healing fast.  I could probably fully heal it tonight if I find an energy source, although I’m a bit worried about my chances of finding significant amounts of vegetation here in Manhattan.  The thought reminds me, we’re in a city.  A very large city, with more people than I’ve probably ever seen in my life. _Well, shit._

For a moment I seriously consider just crawling back into the bed for the next fifty or so years but in the end, I remember that I’m not the only one depending on me anymore.  Kaiden needs me to be strong, so I take a deep breath and open the door.  I step out into the hallway and I see Bucky leaning across the opposite wall.  They were keeping watch over me?  Of course they were, they don’t trust you anymore than you trust them probably.  I shuffle my bare feet, unable to look at The Winter Soldier.  You helped me escape and I bit you, I’m sorry I’m so bad at the whole ‘gratitude’ thing.  When I don’t say anything, Bucky pushes himself off the wall and says “My name is James Buchanan Barnes, but most people call me Bucky if you’d like.”

“I know, Bucky.”

“What? How, have we met before?” Bucky looks concerned for a moment that maybe he’s not remembering something important.

“No, no. “ I tap on my temple.  “My brother told me your names as we were escaping the Hydra base.”

“Oh...that’s disconcerting.”

“Yeah, try being in my shoes.  Kid doesn’t shut up half the time.”  I’m joking, but it falls flat on the floor between us.

“Right, well Steve and the others are waiting downstairs for you.  I can show you if you want to follow me.”  He spins abruptly and stalks away, never looking back to see if I’m following.  

I sigh resignedly and follow Bucky down the hall to an elevator. _I’m sure this won’t be awkward at all._  The elevator ride down is quiet and we’re both not looking at each other. “I’m sorry for biting you right after we met!” I suddenly blurt out. _Oh Lark, you idiot! Why couldn’t you have just let the elevator ride be silent and awkward?!_

Bucky looks surprised but he recovers well and he says “It’s okay, it’s not the first time I’ve been bitten by a complete stranger, probably won’t be the last...at least I don’t think it was the first time.” Bucky scratches his head as a thoughtful expression crosses his face, like he's actually trying to remember he's been randomly bitten.

I almost laugh at that, but our elevator chimes at that moment and opens onto the floor we need.  We exit into an open concept living room, dining room, kitchen and rec room where the other Avengers and Kadien are waiting.  I notice that Kaiden is talking to Sam Wilson where they're seated at a breakfast bar and they’re speaking quietly while Kaiden colors in a large book.  

Tony looks up from the dining table where he’s sitting discussing something with Steve and notices Bucky and I standing awkwardly in the entrance.  He raises his arms and grandly gestures to the room we’re in and states (with a considerable amount of cheek).  “Welcome to the Avenger’s Tower!  This, in case you couldn’t tell, is our common area, where we eat and relax after a tough day of world saving.”

I look around, it’s pretty damn luxurious.  It looks like it’s been decorated from the pages of an interior design magazine.  The kitchen is top of the line and well equipped with a large island where Kaiden and Sam are seated on bar stools.  Across the room there’s a series of large sectional couches surrounding the largest television screen I’ve seen outside of movie theatre.  Natasha and a man I haven’t met yet are sitting on the couches and the man casually has his arm slung around her shoulders.  The lines are sleek and modern in a neutral color palette, and the overall effect actually makes the space look comfortable.  

Steve disrupts my observance of the room when he asks, “So, have you made any decisions?  What will you do from here?”

I meet Steve’s gaze and plant my feet.  My mom always told me that you can’t say anything with conviction if you’re shuffling your feet. “I don’t think that I can make a decision until Kaiden and I return to Montana to hold a memorial service for our mother.  Beyond that, I can’t make any decisions for our future right now, I need to put her to rest before I-we can move on.”  

Both Steve and Tony nod in sympathy and Steve responds “We understand, please take a few days to consider our offer.  In the meantime, we can provide anything that either you or Kaiden need.  Please, give us a day to make sure that Montana is secure for you to return to and then we can take you back for your mother’s memorial. Does that sound...agreeable?”  

I consider for a moment, waiting a day doesn’t seem so bad, I can do whatever organizing and arrangements I need to do over the phone and Kaiden is safe here.  I’m not thrilled with the prospect of having to be constantly on guard to hide my powers and I'm uncertain if I'll ever really be able to trust these people, but for now...it would do.

I nod and then shrug “Sure, why not?”

Tony and Steve simultaneously relax and Tony once again gestures grandly to the living area “Well then, please make yourself at home.”  With that decree everyone seemed to relax and resume whatever they had been doing before Bucky and I came into the room.  Bucky left me and walked over to start a conversation with Steve while Tony appeared to be doing his best to annoy them both.  Natasha and the man on the couch went back to watching whatever they had been on gigantic television.  

I approached the kitchen island where Sam and Kaiden were sitting.  I hovered uneasily for a moment, not sure what to do with myself when Kaiden sensed my uneasiness and looked up from his coloring book. “Hey Lark, can I have a snack?”

Ah yes, a snack, I could do that.  I could be a good big sister and avoid thinking about difficult things at the same time, _Huzzah!_   I look over at Sam where he’s seated beside Kaiden and he gives a nod and a wave of his hand to indicate I can raid their cupboards.  I start rifling through the food stores of the Avengers and it’s...frankly shocking.   _Can any of these guys cook?  Do they consider sugar to be the main food group?_  To be fair, I soon discovered that someone here was clearly a vegetarian based on the amount of tofu and unidentifiable vegetables in the fridge.  Unfortunately there was nothing I could in good conscience give my little brother as a snack.  I don’t want to hype him up on sugar this late in the day, this close to dinnertime and Kaiden could tend to be a finicky eater so weird veggies and tofu wouldn’t fly either.  

I sigh, “Is there any chance I could go to the store for food,” I look down at what I’m wearing, “and maybe some clothes?”

Steve and Tony confer silently for a moment before Tony shrugs and abruptly heads out of the room, sighing.  “Sure, we can do that.  I’ll go with you and use the team card, since I don’t think you’ve got a wallet right now?” Steve breaks away from Bucky and walks over to me in the kitchen, when he reaches me I find myself in the unfamiliar position of craning my neck to look up at him.  D _amn he’s tall..._

He’s right about the wallet, I left it with neighbors, along with a few other essentials, in Montana when I started tracking Kaiden.  As much as I don’t like owing people money, the idea of a young uncontrolled telepath on a 24 hour sugar high is far more terrifying.  “I would appreciate that, thanks.”  

Hey Lark? Can you make spaghetti?  Like Mom did?  Kaiden's request is quiet and shy in my mind

Yeah, sure thing kiddo.  I can't promise it'll be as good as mom's, but I'll try.  I reply to him silently.

Thanks... Lark, you're coming back right? You won't... you won't leave me here? Kaiden's mental voice sounds tentative and he's not looking at me. 

"What?  Of course I'm coming back Kaiden!  Why would you ask that?"  I'm so surprised that I answer out loud without thinking, earning me baffled stares from the other adults in the room. 

"Well... telepathic communication is _weird_ , have fun at the store! Nat you're on psychic babysitting duty." Comments Tony as he saunters out of the room and down a hallway.

Kaiden bolts back towards the elevators that will lead to our rooms, I go to follow him but Sam reaches out an arm to stop me.  Sam lets me know that he's a psychologist and he thinks that Kaiden just needs a couple minutes to himself.  I decide to listen to him and hope that he'll be out of hiding by the time I get back from the store.

After a few minutes of getting ready, we head down the elevator to a garage.  Bucky decides to tag along, which seems to perplex Steve but he doesn't try and stop him.  I’m not paying attention to either of them, trying to prepare myself for the onslaught of humanity of going out in a city.  I can see the flow of energy, or life force, I guess, that weaves itself through living things.  I can tap into that energy and drain it into myself to heal myself or others.  I ‘see’ the energy as something like shining golden light… threads, kind of like people are woven into a larger fabric?  I don’t know, it’s hard for me to describe… just know that it gets bright for me when there are a lot of people in one small area.  Like, staring into the sun, bright and painful.  That’s why I try to avoid places with lots of people, but being in a city was going to suck unless I could learn to control my ‘second sight’ a bit better. There might be more to my powers, but honestly I try to avoid using them if I can.  Growing up, use of my powers would usually result in my mom waking us up in the middle of the night, packing a bag and leaving town without a word to live somewhere else.  So, over time, I stopped using them, period.  Especially after Kaiden was born, he didn’t deserve the same life I’d had growing up and for some reason Mom had never seemed to be as afraid of people learning about her or Kaiden’s abilities as she was mine.     

We all pile into a discreet black car and head into the city.  I’m quiet in the back seat, squinting, there are even more people than I thought there would be.  After driving for a while, we arrive at a one of those ‘one stop shop’ superstores that has groceries as well as clothing and homewares.  

As we enter into the superstore both Bucky and I stop, uneasy.  I’m trying to control the headache I can already feel forming behind my eyes from all the life forces in the store and if I had to guess, Bucky is checking all the available exits and feeling far too exposed.  I’d heard that Bucky used to be a soldier who fought with Steve in World War II, and if that’s true, I’m recognizing the same signs of PTSD in him that I saw in my uncle Gage before he died.  

Steve shakes his head at the two of us, and suggests that he go pick up whatever food I need while Bucky and I go pick out clothes.  I think that he realizes that the clothing section is likely to be far less crowded at this time of day.   _Does he think I have PTSD too?_ I wonder.  I quickly rattle off the items I’ll need to make spaghetti for dinner tonight, and some  Kaiden appropriate snacks.  I figure that’s enough to get Steve started and we promise to meet him in the groceries when we’re done.  Bucky follows me towards the women’s clothing section, keeping a wary eye on his surroundings and hugging the edges of the aisles.  

We make it to the clothes without incident and I quickly pick out a pair of sweats, leggings, a couple of t-shirts and underwear and sports bras.  Bucky wanders off when I enter the underwear section and I’m glad I have the privacy to pick out these items.  I’m satisfied with my selection of comfy clothing and plan on calling my roommate tomorrow to ask her to send some more of my personal things to Montana so I can pick them up while we’re there for the memorial.  

I also pick up some pajamas and clothes for Kaiden, Bucky returning to my side once I was out of the intimates.  That shopping done, I start off in a new direction.

“The groceries are back this way.” I hear Bucky pause behind me, confused.  

“I know that, there’s one more thing I need though.”  I’m still headed toward my target, but I don’t hear Bucky behind me so I turn back “You coming?  You can go meet Steve if you’d rather.” _If I’m making you too nervous_...    

Bucky wavers another moment before shrugging and following after me.  I assume he promised Steve he'd keep an eye on me before we left.  We walk a little ways further when I turn down an aisle suddenly and Bucky’s halts.  

“The _toy_ section?”

“Yeah, weird, right?  It’s like I’m in charge of a seven year old or something.” I roll my eyes at Bucky and he glowers back.  We hold each other’s gazes for a moment before I sigh in exasperation and sigh “Okay, okay” I throw my hands in the air, “Kaiden could never sleep without his stuffed bunny...and I assume it was lost in the fire and I...wanted to surprise him with a new one, okay?  Or at least something similar, he needs the comfort right now.”  Bucky seems to accept this answer and I stalk off, looking for a stuffed animal to replace the one Kaiden lost.  I prowl the toy section for a while, but I’m not finding what I’m looking for.  I’m muttering to myself in exasperation when Bucky approaches me slowly with something in his hand.  Somehow, somewhere, he’s found a stuffed bunny.  It’s light brown, not too big and when he hands it to me it’s soft and cuddly.  It doesn’t look like the one Kaiden lost, but it’s perfect all the same.

“Thank you, this is exactly what I wanted.” I look at him earnestly and for a moment I have an overwhelming urge to hug the big scary assassin.

Bucky won’t meet my eyes, it seems like he’s suddenly overcome with shyness and that makes him much less scary and even more tempting to hug. “You're welcome.” he answers before spinning around, and before I can act on my hugging urges, he's walking quickly back towards Steve in the groceries.

A small smile curls the corners of my mouth and I follow him.  We get the rest of what we need and head back to the tower.  I insisted on getting enough groceries to make spaghetti for everyone and I can feel the eagerness coming from the warriors at the prospect of a home cooked meal.  From my earlier search of their cupboards, I get the distinct impression that it’s been awhile since anyone has made a proper meal for them.  I prepare a big pot of spaghetti with garlic bread and caesar salad and it's quickly devoured.  I even make a sauce without meat for the vegetarian, who turns out to be Natasha.  Even Tony comes and grabs a plate before disappearing, probably back to his lab, Natasha informs me.

I put a plate of spaghetti in front of Kaiden and I’m surprised when he doesn’t immediately tuck into it. _I thought he loved spaghetti?_  He continues to pick at it until both Sam and Steve take turns pretending to steal bites from his plate.  Oddly, it seems to work.  Kaiden giggles at their antics and starts to eat in earnest.  I feel myself relax watching him happily eat between the two towering heroes.  After dinner, Steve, Bucky and Sam take over clean up and Kaiden and I sit at the island with Natasha and the man from before, who I learn is named Clint (Kaiden takes great delight in mentally informing me his superhero identity is Hawkeye).  Sitting in the large kitchen, we all just chat as a group and it’s...nice...really nice.  Kaiden chatters on about anything and everything (he thankfully remembers not to mention my powers) and the adults indulge him.  I talk too, but I’m more reserved in the information I give them, choosing to listen more than speak.  I find myself feeling much more at ease with these people at the end of the evening when I notice that Kaiden has slumped forward onto the breakfast bar, fast asleep.  I’m glad he’s still small for his age as I gather him up into my arms and he sleepily burrows into my shoulder.  I bid the Avengers goodnight and Clint tells me that he and Tony set up a cot for Kaiden in my room while I was at the store.  

I make it back to the room I woke up in today without disturbing Kaiden.  I help Kaiden get ready for bed without ever fully waking him and tuck him into the cot.  With him settled, I head to the shower where I find a potted plant and the shower.  I guiltily drain the plant of life to heal my bullet wound and hop in the shower already feeling better from the plant's gift of energy.  The warm water feels marvelous on my tired muscles and I enjoy the time to relax and empty my mind.  A little while later, I step out of the shower, clean, and wrap myself in one of the large fluffy towels.

I’m walking back into the bedroom when I hear a soft knock at the door.  I quickly cross the room, choosing not to worry about opening the door wearing only a towel in favor of not disturbing Kaiden.  I open the door to find Bucky, holding the rabbit he found at the store today.  He takes in my appearance, his eyes traveling down my body quickly before snapping back up to mine, a little color rising in his cheeks.

“I...uh... you forgot this, downstairs… I thought Kaiden might want it.” Bucky holds out the rabbit stiffly, eyes never leaving my face.  

“Oh, thank you! I totally spaced it.  Luckily he’s sleeping right now, but it’ll be nice to have.”  I smile at him, to try and show I’m not worried about my current state of undress in front of him.  When I accept the rabbit from his outstretched hand, our fingers brush together and I can feel the warmth and roughness of them as a chill runs unexpectedly up my spine.  Bucky's cheeks deepen in color at the contact and his movements become even more awkward.

“Right... well good night.”  Bucky spins abruptly and beats a hasty retreat back towards the elevator.

“Goodnight and thank you!” I call out softly after him, but he's already gone.  

I shut the door after he’s gone and lean against it.  For some reason, my heart seems to be beating a little faster in my chest.   _What’s that about?_ I think to myself as I head back towards the bed. 

 


	7. Octopus' Garden

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I'm late! Blah blah blah, excuse excuse excuse.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I swear I'm getting to the coyote story...eventually...

The next morning I woke up early, got dressed, went downstairs, made coffee and returned back upstairs all before Kaiden had even stirred.  Since it would be a few hours before people on the west coast would be accepting phone calls, I offered to make Kaiden breakfast.  We trooped together back to the kitchen, Kaiden still in his pajamas, and I got busy making pancakes and bacon.  Kaiden was old enough now that he wanted to help, so I gave him the mixing bowl to stir together the pancake batter, while I busied myself with frying bacon and making more coffee.  If last night was anything to go by, I suspected we’d soon be feeding a group of hungry superheroes.  

My hunch proved to be correct and not long after I poured the first batch of pancakes on the griddle, the other Avengers started to filter into the common area yawning and hungry.  Before I knew what happened, I was churning out batch after batch of pancakes and bacon, all of which were promptly devoured.  Everything I made was appreciated by all, and towards the end of the meal, Tony entered the room and chased me away from my station at the griddle so I could eat.  Steve informed me around large mouthfuls of pancake that Tony was actually a fairly skilled cook, but kept such odd hours that unless you wanted to eat dinner at 3am you’d rarely get a chance to experience it.  I had to agree with Steve’s assessment of Tony’s skill, the pancakes were delicious.  

After the feeding frenzy concluded, Natasha and Clint took their turn at clean up duty.  Kaiden must have decided that he liked Natasha after she watched over him yesterday, because he followed her around until she started handing him dishes to put away once she had finished drying.  I watched Kaiden interacting with Clint and Nat for a while, enjoying watching him politely helping when Sam pulled me off to the side.  

My conversation with Sam was brief, but comforting.  He let me know what he and Kaiden had discussed yesterday while I had been recovering and offered me his opinion as a psychologist.  Thankfully, Kaiden appeared to be coping as well as could be expected, and Sam informed me of things I could expect to see from Kaiden as he continued to cope and grieve.  Sam also offered to talk to me if I needed it, but I politely refused.  I wasn’t ready to talk about my mom with anyone yet, but I appreciated his offer.  I walked back to Kaiden feeling more prepared and hopeful for the coming weeks.

With clean-up complete, I asked Nat if there was a phone I could use to make some calls and a quiet place to do so.  She pulled out an extra phone from somewhere on her person and told me that there was a floor in the tower that was made for meditation and quiet reflection.  Kaiden followed me down, armed with coloring books, puzzles and other things to keep him occupied.  I was excited to see that the floor Nat had directed us to was actually a well manicured indoor garden.  Sunlight poured in through the floor to ceiling windows and I felt it as a balm on my soul.  I’ve always loved plants and nature, their energy isn’t as abrasive to me as a person’s or even some animals.  The quiet glow of life surrounds me and I take a moment to revel in it as I get Kaiden settled and prepare to make my phone calls.  

The first person I call is our neighbor in Montana, Emma.  She and her son, Tyler lived down the road from us and also owned horses.  They were also a part the Blackfoot Nation, so although we weren’t a part of the same tribe, our cultural experiences were similar, which I knew my mom had appreciated.  Emma had taken me and then Kaiden under her wing as soon as she had met us and quickly became like a second mom.  I knew that if anyone could, she would be the one who would help us get through our mourning.  I was brought out of my reverie by someone picking up on the other end of the phone.

“Hello?” I nearly lose it at the warm slightly raspy sound of her voice.

“Emma?”

“Lark?  Is that you? Oh sweetie, Ty and I have been so worried! Are you okay? Where’s Kaiden? What’s happening?”

“We’re fine! Kaiden and I are fine, we’re with...friends.  Em… Mom’s dead.” my voice cracks at the end and I scrub furiously at my eyes to keep away the tears that are pooling there.  Kaiden hears my distress and gets up from his activity books and crawls into my lap, cuddling me while I try not to cry.

“Oh sweetie, I know.  I know.  I’m so sorry honey, if there’s anything I can do at all…”

“I have to plan a memorial for mom, Em.  I don’t know how to do that. How do you do that? How do I settle her affairs?” I’m babbling as I panic at the overwhelming task before me. “How do I say goodbye? What about the horses?  What about the land? What about Kaiden? The ser-”

“Lark, honey, slow down.  It will all be okay. I’m here. We will help you through this.”

We talk for a while after that.  Emma, _bless her_ , tells me that she will take care of arranging the memorial service and we plan on having it 2 days from now.  She gives me an outline of what she knew of my mother’s affairs (luckily Emma and my mom were close enough that Mom had often confided in her) and gives me the numbers of the relevant offices that I’ll need to call.  There was no body left from the house fire, so that’s one thing we’ll be spared, _thank God_. I chatted with Emma a bit more, just catching up after discussing the difficult stuff.  We were signing off when Emma said,

“Remember Lark, we’re here for you.  Don’t be a stranger, okay?  We want to support you...especially Ty.”         

Tyler was my age and an excellent horse trainer.  My mom had always been good with horses and when we moved to Montana when I was 14, my mom started her own horse ranch.  She bred mostly Appaloosas, but would get the odd Mustang or paint in the mix as well.  Tyler and I had been close growing up, but had grown apart when I stopped coming home a couple years ago.  I was pretty sure that Ty was holding a torch for me, but I wasn’t even going to contemplate traveling down that road at the moment.  

“Of course, Em.  I love you guys and I’ll see you tomorrow.”

We finished up our call and I took a few minutes break to distract and play with Kaiden.  I then got us both settled again and resumed my call making, starting with my roommate in Washington.  Luckily, since we’d graduated I’d already been organizing my possessions to either sell, toss or send back to Montana.  So I had a pretty good idea of where things were and could direct her to them.  She promised to send them off today and I offered to pay for overnight shipping.  That task complete, I started moving down my list of calls I had to complete that afternoon.  Somewhere in the 3rd or 4th call, Sam appeared in the garden and had Kaiden telepathically relay to me while I was on the phone that he could watch and play with Kaiden for a while, if I’d like.  I nodded emphatically and Kaiden raced Sam back to the elevator, leaving me alone with the phone.  

By the time I’m finished with my calls, the sun is hanging low in the sky.  I hang up my final call and collapse back on the bench I’m sitting on.  I stretch out until I’m laying lengthwise along the bench and luxuriate in the stretch of my back.  I empty my mind and before I know it, I’m collapsing the walls I keep around my mind and my consciousness is unfurling like a flower to fill the room. I find myself sending my consciousness out into the surrounding plants.  I let my mind focus outside of my body for a while and feel the soothing pulse of plant life around me.  Plants don’t have the clamoring thoughts of humans and here amongst all this vegetation, it’s almost like music.  Plants aren’t sentient, not exactly, but it seems like the plants here are welcoming of my presence as I feel my way from the tips of their leaves, to the bottoms of their roots.  I don’t know how long I lay there, but gradually I become aware that there’s another person on this floor with me.  

I’d made a mistake, opening my consciousness like this, I can feel the confusion currents of other emotions roiling beneath the surface of the person I’m sharing the room with.  They’d obviously gotten off the elevator and sensed that something was up, maybe even picked up on the feeling of my mind brushing by them, surrounding them.  Like a rubber band snapping, I pull myself back and secure myself behind my mental walls, as I do, I hear the person sigh regretfully.  

“Hey Bucky.” I softly call out without opening my eyes.  Of everyone I’ve met in the Avenger’s tower so far not including my brother, I’ve spent the most time with Bucky so I’m beginning to recognize what his mind feels like when I’m close to him.  

“H-hey…Did you feel that?” I can hear him pacing around the room restlessly.  

I open my eyes and stare at him blankly. “Feel what?”

“I don’t know.  I got off the elevator and it just felt...it felt....” He seems to be wrestling with himself about something when he catches me staring at him and stops pacing.  He looks frustrated. “Sorry, forget I said anything.” He smiles kind of sadly and I wonder if it’s something he says a lot.  I feel almost bad for playing dumb with him. 

“It’s okay.  Want to sit with me?” I don’t look at him when I say it, a habit I picked up from my mom, opting to close my eyes again instead.  

He doesn’t answer right away and I think maybe I’ve made him uncomfortable but eventually he says, “That depends....are you going to bite me again?”

I open one eye and direct it over to where he’s standing, the jerk has the audacity to be standing there, _smirking_ at me.  I muster up all the sarcasm I can and reply “I think I can contain myself.”  

He smiles and sits down at the bench next to me with a small chuckle.  As he sits, I close my eyes again and relax.  For some reason, I find that I don’t mind having Bucky’s mind around.  His thoughts aren’t abrasive or invasive and seem to be often turned inward and quiet.  However, it's like there's something dangerous brewing just beneath the surface, something I don't want to pry into. His inner light also seems to be dimmed, which is somewhat troubling to me, but again, I don't want to snoop in his mind without his permission.  A few moments later, Bucky opens up a journal he had carried with him and begins to write.  

We sit in comfortable silence for a while, me dozing and Bucky writing when I ask, “How long have you been journaling?”

“A while, ever since I started to remember...I just...I don't want to forget again and it seemed like journaling helps with that.”

I was vaguely aware that Bucky had been through some _shit_ to say the least. The word on the street was that he was as old as Steve and also a super soldier, but he'd been made by the “bad guys” so to speak. I can't even imagine what he's been through but rumors suggest it involved a lot of torture and memory manipulation. I feel my gut twist in sympathy for him. _Maybe there was a way I could help him with his memories?_ _Maybe…_

 _“_ I'm sorry, that must be hard, not being able to trust your memories. Did you want to be alone to write? I can leave if you want.” I sit up on the bench to let him know I'm serious.

“No! No, it's okay. I don't mind sitting with you.” Bucky looks uncomfortable again, but honest.

“Oh...thanks.” _Why was I so awkward around him?_

Our silence is no longer comfortable and we shift around restlessly before I get fed up and ask, “so do you know what Kaiden is up to?”

Bucky looks up at me from his journal and sighs “Thor’s here, I imagine Kaiden is downstairs with him and the others.”

“Thor?... as in…?”

“Yeah, the god of thunder. Apparently he's also somewhat telepathic?”

“Oh god, I bet Kaiden was excited about that.”

“I think it's safe to say Thor has himself a new shadow.”  

We both laugh at that, each trying to imagine if the god of thunder understands exactly what he's gotten himself into.

“And you? You're up here with me away from everyone else. Do you have something against Thor?” I ask looking into Bucky’s clear blue eyes.

“Not at all… Thor is just...a bit loud... and can just be _a lot_. But it's my issue, not his, so I just keep out of the way when he's here.  It's better for everyone that way.” I was getting the impression that Bucky spent a lot of time blaming himself.

I smile at him, “Well, in case you haven’t noticed, I’m not a huge fan of noise...or crowds either.”

“Do you...also...have PTSD?”  The way he says it, it seems like the words leave a foul taste in his mouth.

“Nope, just good ol’ social anxiety! Crowds and talking to new people seriously stress me out, I am very much an introvert.”

“But...you talk to me?” Bucky looks like he might be teasing me, but I can’t be sure.  

“Right yeah, well look at the time! Better go see what Kaiden wants for dinner…” I get up and make as though I’m about ready to leave and Bucky stands too and he’s smiling.   _He has a really nice smile...God I’m such a dope._

“Sure, Steve said he was buying pizza for everyone tonight, I think.”

“Oh nice, we could do a movie night.” I’m excited at the prospect of watching a movie, and I know that it will keep Kaiden’s spirits up.  We used to have movie nights all the time when I would come from school.  

I can’t tell whether the concept of a movie night itself confuses Bucky or if it’s a movie night with Kaiden and _me_ that is troubling him, but his face is clouded with the emotion.  

“Everyone would be invited of course.” I clarify.

This seems to relieve some of the anxiety that he had been struggling with and he smiles at me as we head toward the elevator.    

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What do you guys think about another chapter from Bucky's perspective going over the last couple of chapters that you just read with Lark? Yes? No?


	8. Coyote and the River Monster pt. 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I wanted to get all the way through Lark's story this week but it just didn't happen, so you'll have to wait until next week. Sorry guys! 
> 
> Ispilyay- the Cayuse word for Coyote. (there seems to be some discrepancy as to spelling, so I apologize if it's not exactly right.) 
> 
> This is my favorite Coyote legend that I grew up listening to, so I decided to have Lark tell it here in this story!

Steve did in fact buy pizza for everyone that evening.  We all ate together again in the common area, except for Tony who took an entire half of a pizza with him to his lab.  Thor had indeed arrived that afternoon and was all exuberance and great booming voice that rattled my very bones.  He was good with Kaiden though and didn’t seem to mind that Kaiden was constantly chattering at him both mentally and verbally with wide eyed childish curiosity.  

After dinner though, Thor seemed to have reached his limit for telepathic small children (kudos to him for lasting as long as he did) and he excused himself when I momentarily distracted Kaiden with a suggestion of a movie.  I sent him upstairs to change into his pajamas while I gathered snacks and drinks in front of the giant TV.  

That evening we watched _ The Lion King _ and Kaiden adored it, it was the most relaxed and happy I had seen him since mom had been killed.  As the end credits began to roll, I grabbed the remote and switched off the TV.  Even though we’d started watching alone, at some point Steve, Bucky, Nat and Clint had joined us in the large kitchen/common room of the Avengers tower. We were all spread out across the sectional couches and looking rather cozy.  I’d noticed that Steve and Bucky had paid almost as close attention to the film as Kaiden had and I wondered idly if it was also their first time watching Hamlet presented via talking lions.  With the TV off, we all began to yawn and stretch lazily, except for Bucky, who I guessed was never truly 100% relaxed in front of others. 

“Okay Kay, time for bed.” I said as I began putting remotes back where I had found them and collecting our popcorn bowl and various snacks to put away. 

“Aw...but Lark, can’t I stay up just A LITTLE while longer?” came the plaintive reply.

“Nope, my dude, it is way past your bedtime.” 

“Well, can’t we play just one board game?”

“Nope.”

“A puzzle?”

“Nuh uh.”

By this time, all the adults were trying not to smile, perfectly aware what my little brother was up to.

“Okay...can I AT LEAST have a glass of water?”  Kaiden pleaded as he fixed me with his big brown puppy eyes. I’m pretty sure I heard either Steve or Bucky snort at that.

“Fine, one glass of water and then BED.” I relented. Kaiden bounded up from the couch and followed me across the room to the kitchen.  

As I was filling his water cup from the fridge, Kaiden decided to press his luck, giving me his most innocent and wide eyed look he asked,“Lark...will you tell me a story?”

“...what kind of story?” I asked giving him my fiercest side-eye.

Sensing victory close at hand, Kaiden grinned triumphantly, “A coyote story!  The one about coyote and the river monster!” 

_ Damn him _ , that was my favorite story and he knew it too.  I handed him his glass of water.  “Drink that, and then sit down, kid.”  Kaiden rushed to obey, quickly downing the water and then perching himself on one of the bar stools at the big kitchen island, absolutely beaming at me.  The four others sitting at the couches were watching us, but I tried to block them out to focus on my brother and the story. 

“Long ago, before mankind arrived on the earth and there were only animal people,  Coyote, or  _ Ispilyay, _ as we know him, was walking along the path and to amuse himself, he decided to take his eyes out of his head and throw them high up in the air before...pop, pop... he caught them back in their sockets.”  As I talked, I acted out coyote’s movements with my hands, pretending to throw eyes up in the sky and then pantomimed moving my head as though lining up to catch my eyes back in my head.  This earned me a grin from Kaiden and a couple of chuckles from the couch.  I loved storytelling, and it was the one time I would forget my anxiety in front of others and just lose myself within the tale.    

“‘Ah, this is a marvelous thing!’ thought Coyote, ‘I can throw my eyes up, so high, that not even Eagle will be able to see as far as I can!” I pretended to take my eyes out and toss them in the air again when I say “Coyote had just thrown his eyes up, as high as he could throw when suddenly-”

“Eagle flew by!” exclaimed Kaiden helpfully, bouncing up and down in his seat. 

“That’s right! Eagle flew above Coyote and snatched up his eyes!! He circled high above Coyote and do you know what he said?” I asked, flapping my arms but waiting for Kaiden to supply the line of the story.  

“Ka-caw!!! The great  _ Ispilyay _ has lost his eyes!! How will you see the arrival of your people now?!” recited Kaiden with glee.

I clapped my hands over my eyes and staggered about dramatically as though I were in pain “‘Ah! You  _ disrespectful bird _ ! You get back here and give me back my eyes! I need those!’ cursed Coyote, but Eagle ignored him and flew away.”

“Ka-caw!!” 

“I  _ said _ , Eagle flew away!”  _ I may be letting you stay up kid, but I’m in charge of the story here.   _ Kaiden grinned at me sheepishly and grew quiet while I heard more amusement from the couches.  

Returning to the story, I once again clasped my hands over my eyes and acted the part of a blinded Coyote “Coyote was at a loss, how would he see mankind when they arrived now?  How would he see them in the lands he had prepared for them?  Coyote wandered, blind until a new smell,” I sniffed the air, “greeted his nose. ‘What’s this?’ Coyote thought, he had found a field of buttercups! ‘Ah, these will be perfect!’ Coyote proclaimed, and picking up two blooms he placed them where his eyes used to be.” Now, I didn’t have any buttercups, but there were some yellow daisies in the floral arrangement on the counter that I’m sure Pepper had meticulously placed in that exact spot.  _  Sorry Pepper, but we all must sacrifice for art. _  I picked up two blooms and placed them over my eyes as Coyote would’ve done and pretended to look around the room with the sunny flowers.  My efforts were rewarded by an honest to goodness giggle from Kaiden, what can only be described as a guffaw from Steve and more laughter from all present.

“Now, Coyote was very proud of his new eyes and decided to walk down to the river to better admire his reflection.” I continued to act out my actions with the story, “Just as he was peering over the river’s edge to see himself, he felt the ground beneath him shake...rumble...and roll!” On the last word, I pretended to fall down behind the kitchen counter and remained crouched there for the next part. 

“Coyote felt his heart sink, he knew what that sound was.  He knew what stalked the river, devouring everything in its path...it was…” I started to haul myself up off the kitchen floor as I snarled “it was the great monster! She was, ancient, she was hunger itself and she was going to eat everything...even...YOU!!!” I dashed around the counter in my best monster run, arms reaching for Kaiden as I growled.  My little brother responded appropriately with shouts of mock horror as he ran away from me back towards the couches. I pursued in all of my snarling, shuffling, monster glory.

Kaiden, crawled over the back of the couch and dashed over to Nat and Clint where he grabbed Nat by the hand, attempting to pull her up from her seat emphatically saying, “Come on Nat!! We have to run from THE MONSTER!! She’s going to eat us!!” Nat met my eyes and I responded with an appropriate amount of growling and teeth gnashing. The Black Widow bit back a smile at my antics and allowed herself to be pulled from the couch by my sibling, grabbing Clint’s hand as she did so, pulling him along.

“Oh?  We’re getting up?” Clint’s bemused question floats along after them as they run around the couch. 

“Well yeah! You don’t want to get eaten do you?!” Nat’s eyes sparkle with mischief.  

“Oh, right. Hey Steve! Better run, or you’re monster lunch!”

Steve looks to Bucky, who looks stricken on the couch next to him.  “Um...I think I’ve lost the will to live…” and remains seated with his friend.  

“Coyote fled from the monster, warning others as he went that the monster was coming.  Sadly he wasn’t fast enough and as he ran away he saw Bear” I touch Steve’s shoulder as I run past, “and porcupine, be devoured by the monster.”  I don’t touch Bucky, worried that he wouldn’t be comfortable with the contact but gesture at him instead.     

Bucky looks miffed and scoffs, “why do  _ you _ get to be bear,” he points at Steve, “and I’m stuck being  _ porcupine _ ?”

“Because you’re...prickly?” Steve shrugs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Monster actually has a name in the legend I've heard before but I couldn't find any instances of it written down, so I decided I wouldn't include the monster's name so I wouldn't risk butchering the spelling. See you next week and thank you for reading!


	9. Coyote Story Pt. 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sorry that I've been on hiatus for a while. Life's been crazy right now, but I haven't given up on this story! Here's a shortish chapter to finish where we left off and get me back in the swing of things. 
> 
> This chapter picks up immediately where the previous left off. At some point I'll probably combine them, but today is not that day.

As tempting as it would be to stop and join Steve in needling Bucky, I’m too swept up in the story to pause now.  I begin to chase Kaiden, Natasha and Clint down the hallway leading to labs and recreational areas. Natasha and Clint apparently enjoying the opportunity to ham it up for their young audience as they call out in over dramatic horror at my pursuit.  Suddenly, perhaps because he hears our rucus, Thor emerges from behind a closed door and appears thoroughly confused by the scene before him. 

Kaiden runs to the god of thunder and grabs his hand in an attempt to pull him down the hall away from me, “Run Thor, run! The River Monster is after us!!”

Thor doesn’t move despite my brother’s best efforts, looking deeply puzzled he looks from one face to another “Sir Kaiden, that is clearly  _ not _ a monster...I believe that is your sister…” He looks at me, snarling and growling, playing the part of a monster who would eat the world, “though I will admit, she does seem to be acting rather odd…”

Natasha huffs at Thor, “It’s a bedtime story for Kaiden, Thor,  _ play along _ .” she sounds almost like she’s scolding him for breaking the illusion. 

“Ah, I see.” Thor fixes me with his steely gaze as I pause in my monster crawl, “In that case, I, the mighty Thor, have come to vanquish thee...vile monster...thing…”

_ Okay, so Thor wasn’t going to be winning any awards for his acting anytime soon. _

But then the god of thunder is moving almost faster than thought and the next thing I know I’m laying on my back, staring at the ceiling.  And that is the story of the first time I was tackled by Thor.  

I laid on my back, crushed under Thor’s considerable weight, contemplating how my life had come to this moment.  I was pinned underneath the god of thunder...just... just... _ how _ ???  Also, it was hard to breathe.  

Suddenly, Thor was being hauled off of me roughly and strong hands were helping me into a sitting position as I gulped in grateful lungfuls of air.  

“Jesus fucking Christ, Thor! You can’t just tackle her like that!  She’s not a fucking superhuman, you’ll  _ break _ her!” The angry voice belongs to Bucky, but I don’t see him as I look around dazedly.  Then, I look down and see the arms that are wrapped around me protectively don’t match.  One appears to be made of metal.  

I gulp reflexively as my heartbeat speeds up and my body heats unexpectedly,  _ Don’t blush, don’t blush, don’t blush… _ I chant to myself. 

I look up and away from those arms and see that we’re surrounded by a ring of concerned looking Avengers. Steve looks positively stunned that Bucky reacted that strongly to my perceived danger, but he meets my pleading eyes and must accurately read my embarrassment with my current situation because he says, “Well, this probably wasn’t how the story normally ends, but this time, Thor rushes in and destroys the river monster, returning all of the plants and animals and everything was good the end and time for bed!” With that rushed declaration, Steve scoops up a stunned Kaiden and begins to carry him towards the elevator.  

The rest of our audience seems to catch the hint and disperses, Thor muttering a sheepish apology as he walks by, leaving Bucky and I sitting on the floor in the middle of the hallway.  Bucky swiftly stands, pulling me up along with him.  Once standing, he gives me a quick once over to check for injuries, while I stand mutely, still rather stunned. I assume he confirms that Thor did no lasting damage to me, because he gives a gentle tug on my hand and heads towards the elevators, saying “Come on, Steve and Kaiden are waiting for you.”  

I remain rooted to the spot, opening and closing my mouth several times, trying to comprehend what in the hell just happened.  In the end, I end up shaking my head and just following behind him, realizing that there was just too much going on in my head to try and process one more thing. 

I catch up just as Bucky makes it up to the elevator, and I ride up with him.  I shift my weight from foot to foot on the ride up, looking anywhere but at the super soldier next to me.  My mind flashes to the memory of his arms around me, strong and secure. I can feel my blush creeping up my neck and I rub my hand along the back of my neck, trying to brush it away.  

Bucky clears his throat, maybe feeling some of the tension and says “So...I’m taking you and Kaiden to Montana tomorrow.”

“Oh...thank you.  You didn’t have to do that.”

“No, it’s okay.  It made the most sense that I take you, everyone else is either busy or too recognizable.”

_ Right, of course.  Not that he would actually want to take you to what?  Just spend time with you? Idiot.  _

I force a smile, “Well still, I appreciate you being willing to come along.  Sorry it’s not going to be very...fun.” I end with a grimace.  

“I mean, I don’t know about you, but I always have a  _ blast _ at funerals.”  My eyes meet his as my stomach drops.  Bucky gasps and reaches towards me as an apology begins to tumble from his lips, but at that moment the elevator dings and I’m rushing past him down the hall and to the safety of my room, wiping furiously at my cheeks refusing to acknowledge any tears there.

In the safety of my room, I see that Steve must have dropped off Kaiden and that he was able to get himself ready for bed tonight.  He’s sleeping soundly on his cot, so I walk quietly across the room and collapse into bed.  

The reason we’re going to Montana hangs heavily on my mind as I try and stuff it back into its hidden place in a dark, unused closet of my brain, where I don’t have to think about it.  Because thinking about it means it’s real,  _ that mom’s really gone...that we’re going home only to… _

I swallow thickly and wrench my thoughts away from the path Bucky inadvertently set them on.  I can’t dwell on this, I can’t grieve, can’t be weak.  I need to be strong for my brother.  I’m all he has left, I can’t fall apart on him, I can’t.  

Despite the mental scolding I give myself, I still wake up in the morning to find my pillow wet with tears. 


	10. Prepare for Take Off

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just a 'lil shorty chapter! Thank you again for the kudos and I got my first comment! Yay! It was really nice so thank you again for that!

The morning we were supposed to leave for Montana, I woke up feeling like my head was stuffed with cotton.  I hate crying in my sleep because it usually gives me  _ such _ a sinus headache, and today was no different.  Nevertheless I managed to stumble out of bed, pack up Kaiden and I, it wasn’t much, but hopefully there would be a box of clothes and personal items waiting for me at Emma’s house as well as an old suit of Ty’s for Kaiden to wear to the memorial.  Packing done, we ate a quick breakfast and rode the elevator up to meet Bucky in the hangar, just as the sun was barely beginning to kiss the sky with the first light of dawn.  

I was surprised that Tony, Steve and Sam were there waiting with Bucky to see us off.  Kaiden bounded up to them and practically tackled Sam in his exuberance, then proceeded to hug each of the waiting men in turn, including Bucky how looked ready to crawl out of his own skin at the contact.  

“Kid...uh...kid, I-I’m coming with you, no reason to say goodbye.”  Bucky looked like he might bolt at any moment with my brother wrapped around his legs.

“I know! I just like hugs!” Kaiden beamed up at him.  Seeing that Kaiden wasn’t confused by the situation, Bucky abruptly extricated himself from Kaiden’s hold and quickly walked up the ramp into the jet.  After a moment, he was followed by a frowning Steve.

“Kay, you can’t just hug people without their permission.  Sometimes it makes them uncomfortable.” I touched his shoulder to get his attention

“Why?”   


“Because some people don’t like being touched.” 

“Why?” 

“Lots of reasons, it just depends on the person.”   


“Why?”

Seeing that I was going nowhere with this conversation, I pinched the bridge of my nose and sighed, “You’re just going to have to trust me on this, kid.” 

Kaiden opened his mouth like he was planning on being stubborn this morning but Tony stepped in instead. “So listen, uh, have a safe trip and think about coming back here once it’s all over, yeah?  Kaiden’s a special kid, and he could use people who understand what he’s going through as he grows up.  I mean, don’t get me wrong, the kid’s a total pain in the ass, but I’m pretty sure if you didn’t come back, Sam would just wind up crying all the damn time from missing him and that might be even more annoying.  So please stay, if for nothing other than my sanity and Sam’s precarious credibility as a tough guy.”

I grab Kaiden’s hand and pull him behind me up the ramp, “Yeah, yeah super powered kid should be with super powered people.  I get it, Tony.  I will think about it.”  I am not the most pleasant on the best of mornings, and this definitely wasn’t the best.  I am determined not to smile at what Tony said,  _ I won’t _ .  He doesn’t need the boost to his ego anyway. 

“Oh and Lark?” I stop partway up the ramp and spin abruptly to face Tony, possibly giving Kaiden whiplash in the process. “We can be here for you too,” Tony gestures to himself and the other assembled Avengers, “we all know a little about loss here, especially the loss of a parent.  We can support you. Look, I’m not saying we’ll ever replace your family, and God knows we’ve all got our own issues, but there’s a place here for you, both of you.  If you want it.”  

I’m a little taken aback and overwhelmed by the sincerity in Tony’s voice and his eyes.  All I can do in response is swallow around the lump in my throat and nod.  Tony smiles and nods back as I turn around and finish boarding the plane.  

As we reach the entrance to the plane, we brush by what seems to be a fuming Steve as he stomps back down the gangplank.  Inside I see Bucky preparing for take off, hitting buttons and flipping switches with a clipped fury, as though each piece of equipment has personally offended him.  I suppose Bucky’s chat with Steve didn’t go so well then.   _ I wonder what they talked about? _  I don’t dare ask though, as we settle in to begin our trip.

_ It’s going to be a long flight....  _ I think as I fasten my seatbelt. 

As the plane lifted off the ground, Tony lifted his arm in a gesture of farewell, waving at the little boy waving animatedly from the window of the jet.  Sam noticed and smirked at the Iron Man.

“You sure  _ I’m _ the one who would be crying all the time if they didn’t come back?”

Tony rolled his eyes as he lowered his arm and turned to walk back into the tower. “Shut up Sam.”


End file.
